Page 89 - North American Clean Energy September/October 2019 Issue

Figure 4
Ray Martin is Vice President of IDL Global, a corporate advisory firm that specializes in providing services
to companies with an emphasis on technology and investment banking services for strategic acquisitions, divestitures, corporate finance, joint ventures as well as technology and IP management.
IDL Global
/// www.linkedin.com/company/idl-global
All-electric homes
Many home builders are choosing to
offer all-electric homes, with no natural gas service. The builders’ motivation is
to reduce cost by eliminating the cost of running natural gas pipelines and exhaust systems. The utilities and municipalities are making the effort to make their communities greener by reducing emissions. For example, Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) now offers incentives up to $13,750 to convert an existing gas home to all electric.
The trend is clear: the goal of net zero energy homes is now shifting to net zero emission homes. Since it can be costly
to power water heaters and other heavy loads with electricity, it is even more compelling for home builders and owners to take these loads off the grid with off- grid PV solar systems.
Go solar for new homes
Today, only 10 to 15 percent of new California homes include solar PV systems. As of January 2020, 100 percent of new California residential construction will require solar PV; this will drive the market for an additional 96,000 to 102,000 residential solar systems in California
per year. California homes are already expensive, so home builders are seeking solutions to comply with the solar mandate at the lowest cost possible.
The lowest cost solar system will not include batteries. Battery backup systems have advantages of lowering demand charges and can arbitrage power costs (storing power when rates are low, and consuming battery power when rates
are high). However, the disadvantages of batteries are cost and safety. Battery fires, though rare, are hazardous because they involve both electricity and potentially hazardous chemicals that can produce noxious fumes when burning.
Faced with Duck Curve issues and other dilemmas, the goal for designing a solar system is no longer per watt price. In fact, for most new home builders
and homeowners, the goal is how to meet solar mandates with minimum investment, quickest ROI, and freedom of choice. Going off-grid without batteries, taking major loads off the grid, and signing no long-term contracts, will allow you to achieve these goals.
Dr. George S. Cheng is the CTO
of CyboEnergy, which focuses on the development, manufacturing, marketing, and servicing of the product lines in the energy and clean energy field.
CyboEnergy
/// www.cyboenergy.com
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